China has the longest and most highly developed ceramic tradition in the world, encompassing early Neolithic earthenwares, the finely glazed stoneware pieces of the Song period, and the years of Imperial patronage and export ware for the new markets of the West. Most studies of Chinese art deal with types, period or styles, but this historical examination of Chinese ceramics, which uses recent research, explains how the evolution of pottery depended upon the technological developments of the Chinese culture. The book's practical approach makes full use of archaeological reports to show how differing geographical areas, materials and developing technology all shaped the evolution of Chinese ceramics.